Systems and methods for providing a customer service

ABSTRACT

The disclosed embodiments include systems and methods for providing customer service. The system may include one or more memory devices storing software instructions. The system may also include one or more processors configured to execute the software instructions to receive customer data and location data from a client device. The one or more processors may also execute the software instructions to identify a customer and a merchant based on the received data. The one or more processors may also execute the software instructions to determine an applicable customer service option based on at least the identified merchant and the identified customer, the customer service option including at least an option to activate a credit card secondary benefit, and transmit a notification to the client device, the notification including the customer service option when the identified customer is eligible for the determined customer service option.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 14/499,979, filed Sep. 29, 2014, which claims priority under 35U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/884,214, flied onSep. 30, 2013, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/884,214, filed on Sep. 30, 2013, which isexpressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments generally relate to systems and methods forproviding a customer service, and more particularly, systems and methodsfor the promotion and processing of secondary benefits associated with afinancial account.

BACKGROUND

Financial service providers often offer various “secondary benefits” totheir customers. For example, financial service providers that issuecredit cards to consumers may offer various services that supplement theuse of their credit cards. These programs may be used by consumers inconjunction with their credit card to receive a benefit such as rewardspoints, an extended warranty, an insurance plan, etc.

While benefits such as these are often useful, customers may be unawareof which services are available to them and in what situations theyqualify to use them. Further, preconceived notions about such benefitsmay prevent customers from seeking more information about them. Forexample, complicated verification and processing requirements may detercustomers from using secondary benefits.

Improving customer awareness of secondary benefits and ease of use mayincrease customer satisfaction. Therefore, a need exists to enhance useand processing of customer services, such as secondary benefits.

SUMMARY

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, systems, methods, andcomputer-readable media are provided for providing customer services.

Consistent with a disclosed embodiment, a system for providing acustomer service is provided. The system may include one or more memorydevices storing software instructions. The system may also include oneor more processors configured to execute the software instructions toreceive customer data and location data from a client device, identify acustomer associated with the client device based on the customer data,and identify a merchant associated with the location based on thelocation data. The one or more processors may also execute the softwareinstructions to determine an applicable customer service option based onat least the identified merchant and the identified customer, thecustomer service option including at least an option to activate acredit card secondary benefit, and transmit a notification to the clientdevice, the notification including the customer service option when theidentified customer is eligible for the determined customer serviceoption.

Consistent with another disclosed embodiment, a method for providing acustomer service is provided. The method may include receiving customerdata and transaction data from a client device, the transaction dataincluding information associated with a pending or completedtransaction, and determining, by one or more processors, an applicablecustomer service option based on at least customer data and transactiondata, the customer service option including at least an option for thecustomer to activate a customer service associated with the pending orcompleted transaction. The method may also include transmitting anotification to the client device, the notification including at leastthe customer service option, receiving customer input from the clientdevice in response to the notification indicating acceptance of thecustomer service option, and providing the customer service based on thecustomer input.

Consistent with another disclosed embodiment, a system for providing acustomer service is provided. The system may include one or more memorydevices storing software instructions and an interface device. Thesystem may also include one or more processors configured to execute thesoftware instructions to receive product information associated with aproduct, and transmit the product information to a financial serviceprovider device. The one or more processors may be further configured toexecute the software instructions to receive a customer service optionassociated with the product from the financial service provider device,and display, by the interface device, the customer service optionassociated with the product including eligibility for the customerservice.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate disclosed embodiments and,together with the description, serve to explain the disclosedembodiments. In the drawings;

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system, consistent withdisclosed embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary server, consistent withdisclosed embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for providing a customerservice, consistent with disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for providing informationrelated to customer service before a transaction is made, consistentwith disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for using a client deviceto receive information related to a customer service, consistent withdisclosed embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for notifying a customerof available customer service after a transaction has occurred,consistent with disclosed embodiments; and

FIGS. 7A and 7B depict exemplary client device user interfacesdisplaying information resulting from one or more of the processesdepicted in FIGS. 3-6, consistent with disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the disclosed embodiments,examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverconvenient, the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, systems and method for improvingthe processing and provision of customer services is provided. In oneembodiment, the disclosed systems and methods allow for faster and moreefficient processing and use of secondary benefits associated with acredit card. In one aspect, by improving the channels of communicationbetween a customer and their credit card provider at relevant times, thedisclosed embodiments increase the customer's awareness of the benefitsthat are available and increase the credit card provider's awareness ofcustomer activity that may be eligible for a benefit.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system 100 forperforming one or more operations consistent with the disclosedembodiments. In one embodiment, system 100 may include a client device110, a merchant device 120, a financial service provider device 130, anda network 140. The components and arrangement of the components includedin system 100 may vary. For example, system 100 may further include oneor more of the components of system 100 and/or other components thatperform or assist in the performance of one or more processes consistentwith the disclosed embodiments.

Components of system 100 may be computing systems configured to provide,use, and/or process customer services. As further described herein,components of system 100 may include one or more computing devices(e.g., computer(s), server(s), embedded systems, etc.), memory storingdata and/or software instructions (e.g., database(s), memory devices,etc.), etc. In some embodiments, the one or more computing devices areconfigured to execute software instructions stored on one or more memorydevices to perform one or more operations consistent with the disclosedembodiments. Components of system 100 may be configured to communicatewith one or more other components of system 100, including client device110, merchant device 120, and financial service provider device 130. Incertain aspects, users may operate one or more components of system 100to initiate one or more operations consistent with the disclosedembodiments. For example, client device 110 may be operated by a user112. User 112 may be an owner/operator of client device 110, such as acustomer of one or more entities associated with components of system100. In other aspects, the one or more users may be employees of, orassociated with, the entity corresponding to the respective component(s)of system 100 (e.g., someone authorized to use the underlying computingsystems or otherwise act on behalf of the entity). In other aspects, theone or more users may not be an employee or otherwise associated withthe underlying entity. In some aspects, the one or more users may be anentity, rather than an individual(s), associated with the respectivecomponent.

Client device 110 may be one or more computing devices configured toexecute software instructions for performing one or more operationsconsistent with the disclosed embodiments. In one embodiment, clientdevice 110 may be a mobile device (e.g., tablet, smartphone, etc.), adesktop computer, a laptop, a server, a wearable screen or headset,and/or device dedicated hardware device. Client device 110 may includeone or more processors configured to execute software instructionsstored in memory, such as memory included in client device 110. Clientdevice 110 may include software that, when executed by a processor,performs known Internet-related communication and content displayprocesses. For instance, client device 110 may execute browser softwarethat generates and displays interface screens including content on adisplay device included in, or connected to, client device 110. Thedisclosed embodiments are not limited to any particular configuration ofclient device 110. For instance, client device 110 may be a mobiledevice that stores and executes mobile applications that providefinancial-service-related functions offered by a financial serviceprovider, such as an application associated with one or more financialaccounts that a customer holds with financial service provider.

In one embodiment, a user 112 may use client device 110 to perform oneor more operations consistent with the disclosed embodiments. In oneaspect, user 112 may be a customer or potential customer of a merchantassociated with merchant device 120. For instance, user 112 may transactwith merchant device 120. In another aspect, user 112 may be a customerof the financial service provider associated with financial serviceprovider device 130. For instance, the financial service provider maymaintain a financial service account (e.g., checking account or thelike) for user 112.

Merchant device 120 may be associated with a merchant, such as one ormore providers of goods and/or services, such as a retailer, etc.Merchant device 120 may include one or more computing systems that areconfigured to perform computer-implemented processes, such as a server,desktop, laptop, mobile device, embedded system or other dedicatedhardware, etc. Further, merchant device 120 may include one or morecomputing devices configured to process and handle purchase transactionsat a physical location of the associated merchant, such as point of saleterminals, local servers, kiosks, barcode scanners, etc., at a retailerlocation. Merchant device 120 may be configured to perform financialtransaction processes, such as receiving, processing, and handlingpurchase transactions, payment processes, etc. associated with the saleof goods and/or services provided by the associated merchant. In someaspects, merchant device 120 may include computing devices that mayinclude back and/or front-end computing components that store consumertransaction data and execute software instructions to perform operationsconsistent with the disclosed embodiments, such as computers that areoperated by employees of the associated merchant (e.g., back-officesystems, etc.).

In certain aspects, a customer associated with client device 110 (e.g.,user 112) may purchase goods and/or services from a merchant associatedwith merchant device 120. In some instances, the customer may use afinancial account provided by a financial service provider to pay forthe goods and/or services. In other instances, the customer may useanother payment method, such as cash.

Financial service provider device 130 may be associated with a financialservice provider. The financial service provider may be a bank, creditunion, credit card issuer, or other type of financial service entitythat generates, provides, manages, and/or maintains financial serviceaccounts for one or more users (e.g., user 112). Financial serviceaccounts may include, for example, checking accounts, savings accounts,credit card accounts, loan accounts, rewards accounts, and any othertypes of financial service account known to those skilled in the art.Financial service accounts may be associated with electronic accounts,such as a digital wallet or similar account that may be used to performelectronic transactions, such as purchasing goods and/or servicesonline. Financial service accounts may also be associated with physicalfinancial service account cards, such as a debit or credit card that auser may carry on their person and use to perform financial servicetransactions, such as purchasing goods and/or services at a point ofsale terminal (i.e., merchant device 120).

The financial service provider may include infrastructure and componentsthat are configured to generate and provide financial service accountsand financial service account cards (e.g., debit cards, credit cards,etc.). The financial service provider may also include infrastructuresand components that are configured to manage transactions associatedwith a customer financial service account. In certain aspects, financialservice provider device 130 may include one or more computing devicesconfigured to communicate with client device 110 and merchant device 120to via network 140 to execute processing steps associated with providinga customer service.

In certain aspects, the financial service provider associated withfinancial service provider device 130 may provide a primary financialservice to a customer (e.g., user 112). For example, the financialservice provider may maintain a credit card account with the customer,in a manner known in the art. In addition to the primary service (e.g.,credit card account), the financial service provider may also provide“secondary benefits” in the form of additional services to the customer.These additional customer services may include, for example, rewardsprograms, extended warranties, travel assistance, insurance coverage,price protection, concierge services, identity protection, etc. In someaspects, these secondary benefits may be used in conjunction with theprimary service. For example, an extended warranty may be available to acustomer for products purchased with a credit card maintained with thefinancial service provider. It should be understood that the term“secondary” merely indicates that the benefits are associated withanother service (e.g., provision of credit) but does not otherwise limitthe scope of benefits that may be provided. Consistent with disclosedembodiments, components of system 100 may be cooperate over network 140to provide secondary benefits to the customer, including use andprocessing of the secondary benefit.

Network 140 may be any type of network configured to providecommunications between components of system 100. For example, network140 may be any type of network (including infrastructure) that providescommunications, exchanges information, and/or facilitates the exchangeof information, such as the Internet, a Local Area Network, or othersuitable connection(s) that enables the sending and receiving ofinformation between the components of system 100. In other embodiments,one or more components of system 100 may communicate directly through adedicated communication link(s) (not shown), such as a link betweenclient device 110 and merchant device 120.

It is to be understood that the configuration and boundaries of thefunctional building blocks of system 100 has been defined herein for theconvenience of the description. Alternative boundaries can be defined solong as the specified functions and relationships thereof areappropriately performed. Alternatives (including equivalents,extensions, variations, deviations, etc., of those described herein)will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on theteachings contained herein. For example, merchant device 120 may includefinancial service provider device 130 for performing operationsassociated with a private label financial account provided by a merchantassociated with merchant device 120. Such alternatives fall within thescope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary server 211 for implementing embodimentsconsistent with the present disclosure. Variations of server 211 may beused by client device 110, merchant device 120, and/or financial serviceprovider device 130.

In one embodiment, server 211 may include one or more processors 221,one or more memories 223, and one or more input/output (I/O) devices222. According to some embodiments, server 211 may be an embedded systemor similar computing devices that generate, maintain, and provide website(s) consistent with disclosed embodiments. Server 211 may bestandalone, or it may be part of a subsystem, which may be part of alarger system. For example, server 211 may represent distributed serversthat are remotely located and communicate over a network (e.g., network140) or a dedicated network, such as a LAN. Server 211 may correspond toany of client device 110, merchant device 120, and financial serviceprovider device 130.

Processor 221 may include one or more known processing devices, such asa microprocessor from the Pentium™ or Xeon™ family manufactured byIntel™, the Turion™ family manufactured by AMD™, or any of variousprocessors manufactured by Sun Microsystems. The disclosed embodimentsare not limited to any type of processor(s) configured in server 211.

Memory 223 may include one or more storage devices configured to storeinstructions used by processor 221 to perform functions related todisclosed embodiments. For example, memory 223 may be configured withone or more software instructions, such as program(s) 224 that mayperform one or more operations when executed by processor 221. Thedisclosed embodiments are not limited to separate programs or computersconfigured to perform dedicated tasks. For example, memory 223 mayinclude a single program 224 that performs the functions of the server211, or program 224 could comprise multiple programs. Additionally,processor 221 may execute one or more programs located remotely fromserver 211. For example, client device 110, merchant device 120, and/orfinancial service provider device 130, may, via server 211, access oneor more remote programs that, when executed, perform functions relatedto certain disclosed embodiments. Memory 223 may also store data 225that may reflect any type of information in any format that the systemmay use to perform operations consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

I/O devices 222 may be one or more devices configured to allow data tobe received and/or transmitted by server 211. I/O devices 222 mayinclude one or more digital and/or analog communication devices thatallow server 211 to communicate with other machines and devices, such asother components of system 100.

Server 211 may also be communicatively connected to one or moredatabase(s) 226. Server 211 may be communicatively connected todatabase(s) 226 through network 140. Database 226 may include one ormore memory devices that store information and are accessed and/ormanaged through server 211. By way of example, database(s) 226 mayinclude Oracle™ databases, Sybase™ databases, or other relationaldatabases or non-relational databases, such as Hadoop sequence files,HBase, or Cassandra. The databases or other files may include, forexample, data and information related to the source and destination of anetwork request, the data contained in the request, etc. Systems andmethods of disclosed embodiments, however, are not limited to separatedatabases. In one aspect, system 200 may include database 226.Alternatively, database 226 may be located remotely from the system 200.Database 226 may include computing components (e.g., database managementsystem, database server, etc.) configured to receive and processrequests for data stored in memory devices of database(s) 226 and toprovide data from database 226.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 300 for providing customerservice. It some aspects, the customer service may be a secondarybenefit associated with a primary service provided to a customer by afinancial service provider. For example, the customer service may be oneof a variety of additional benefits available to a customer thatmaintains a financial account (e.g., credit card, etc.) with thefinancial service provider. It should be understood, however, that thedisclosed embodiments are not limited to these types of benefits, norare they limited to being provided by a financial service provider. Theexemplary disclosed embodiments may be applicable to any serviceprovided to a customer.

Process 300 may include financial service provider device 130 receivingdata related to a customer transaction (step 310). In some aspects, thedata may be related to a transaction with a merchant associated withmerchant device 120. The data may include information related to apotential transaction (pre-transaction data) and/or information relatedto a transaction that has already taken place (post-transaction data).Pre-transaction data may include a location of client device 110, whichmay be associated with the location of the customer (e.g., user 112),and/or information related to an item or service subject to thepotential transaction (e.g., a product to be purchased).Post-transaction data may include information about a transaction thatpreviously occurred, which may be received from client device 110 and/ormerchant device 120. For example, post-transaction data may includeinformation from merchant 120 regarding the purchase of a product by acustomer with a credit card maintained by the financial serviceprovider.

Location data may be determined by client device 110. For example,client device 110 may include a GPS device that provides geographiclocation information (not shown). In some embodiments, the GPS devicemay communicate with a GPS satellite navigation system that is used todetermine the precise location of client device 110. The GPS device maydecode time signal transmissions received from multiple satellites todetermine the position of client device 110 using, for example,trilateration techniques performed by a processor executing softwarestored on a memory device within the GPS device. Client device 110,therefore, may calculate and transmit geographic position information(e.g., location coordinates or the like) associated with client device110.

The data may also include customer data that allows financial serviceprovider device 130 to determine a customer associated with clientdevice 110. For example, the customer data may include login informationassociated with a financial services application on a mobile device. Thecustomer data may identify the customer's name, contact information,account information, etc.

Process 300 may also include financial service provider device 130processing the received data related to a customer transaction todetermine an applicable customer service (step 320). For example,financial service provider device 130 may execute software instructionsto determine if the received data corresponds to any customer servicesavailable to the customer that is associated with the data.

In some aspects, financial service provider device 130 may process thereceived data to determine the customer and financial account (e.g.,credit card account) associated with the data. For example, financialservice provider device 130 may receive post-transaction data indicatingthat a customer made a purchase at a particular retail merchant. In someembodiments, financial service provider device 130 may execute softwareinstructions to search an electronic database to retrieve informationthat matches the received data, which may include customer-identifyinginformation, financial account information, etc.

Based on the received information, financial service provider device 130may determine that a customer service is available to the customer. Insome embodiments, financial service provider device 130 may executesoftware instructions to identify one or more customer services that areassociated with a financial account held by the customer and match theinformation received in step 310. For example, financial serviceprovider device 130 may determine that the received data indicates apurchase at a retail merchant and may also determine that the customerwho made the purchase is eligible for a customer service associated withthe purchase (e.g., extended warranty coverage, etc.).

If financial service provider device 130 determines that a customerservice is applicable, financial service provider device 130 maytransmit a notification to client device 110 (step 330). In someaspects, the notification may alert the customer that the customerservice is available. For example, in an embodiment in which thecustomer service determined in step 320 is a supplemental insurance plan(e.g., rental car insurance or the likes, financial service providerdevice 130 may send a notification to client device 110, which may be amobile device, to alert the customer of the availability of theinsurance. The alert notification may be transmitted, for example, as ansms text message, a push notification, in-app notification, email, etc.in substantially real time (i.e., before the customer has purchasedsupplemental rental car insurance from the rental car dealer).

In other aspects, the notification may inform a customer of theireligibility for a customer service. For example, in an embodiment inwhich the service determined in step 320 is an extended warranty for aproduct, financial service provider device may send a notification toclient device 120 that includes a message regarding whether the customerand/or product is eligible.

The notification may also include information about the availablecustomer service. The information may include details such as terms of apotential agreement between the customer and financial service provider.For example, if the customer service is an extended warranty for apurchased product, the information in the notification may include theduration of the warranty and terms of the coverage.

Similarly, the information about the available customer service mayinclude a potential cost and/or cost savings to the customer. In someembodiments, financial service provider device 130 may execute softwareinstructions to calculate a cost of an available customer service to acustomer. Financial service provider device 130 may also calculateand/or determine a cost of a similar service available to the customerand further calculate a potential difference (e.g., cost savings)between the services. For example, financial service provider device 130may determine that a customer service (e.g., rental car insurance) isincluded as a secondary benefit at no cost to the customer. Financialservice provider device 130 may also determine that a similar customerservice (e.g., rental car insurance available through the rental carmerchant) would include a particular cost to the customer. Financialservice provider device 130 may calculate the particular cost andinclude it as information sent to client device 110. In someembodiments, calculated cost savings may be displayed to the customervia client device 110 such that the customer may consider cost whendeciding whether to use the available customer service.

As described above, the information sent to client device 110 as part ofthe notification transmitted in step 330 may be displayed to a customer,such as via a display device connected to or part of client device 110.For example, client device 110 may be a mobile device (e.g., smartphone, tablet, etc.) that receives the notification transmitted fromfinancial service provider device 130 and displays the notification tothe customer (e.g., user 112). For example, if the notification is atext message, client device 110 may execute software instructions toprocess the received notification and display it to user 112 as areceived text message in a manner known in the art.

It should be understood that the information transmitted to clientdevice 110 from financial service provider device 130 may be processedby client device 110 through a software program, such as a mobileapplication. Client device 110 may execute software instructions to runthe mobile application and present the information to user 112 in anymanner. For example, client device 110 may store the information fromfinancial service provider device 130 in an electronic database, andonly display information when requested by user 112. Interactive menusand/or other selection tools may be provided by or via client device 110to allow the customer to decide what information is displayed, stored,transmitted, etc.

In some embodiments, user 112 may interact with client device 110 toprovide additional information regarding the available customer service.For example, client device 110 may receive input through an I/O device(e.g., touch screen, keypad, etc.), and store the input as dataassociated with the available service transmitted to client device 110in step 330. The additional information may include informationrequested as part of the notification sent from financial serviceprovider device 130. For example, the notification sent from financialservice provider device 130 may include a prompt for additionalinformation, such as the type of car the customer is considering rentingor the name of a merchant at which a transaction may take place. Inother aspects, the additional information may include an indication ofacceptance or refusal of the customer service. For example, the customermay input to client device 110 an acceptance of the customer service110, such as an extended warranty for a product to be purchased. Theadditional information may be transmitted by client device 110 tofinancial service provider device 130. In some instances, additionalinformation may be transmitted by merchant device 120. For example,merchant device 120 may provide transaction information pertinent to theprovision of a customer service.

Process 300 may further include financial service provider device 130receiving the transmitted additional information (step 340). In someaspects, financial service provider device 130 may process the receivedadditional information to further process and determine an applicablecustomer service. For example, financial service provider device 130 mayexecute software instructions to determine how the additionalinformation affects a customer's eligibility for a customer service orhow the additional information affects the customer service that isavailable to the customer. In other words, the additional informationmay allow financial service device 130 to complete a determination ofwhich customer service(s) applies to the customer at that time. In theseembodiments, steps 320-340 may be repeated to allow client device 110,merchant device 120, and financial service provider device 130 tocommunicate with each other through as many iterations as necessary toallow the financial service provider to provide and the customer toreceive the information necessary to complete a customer service.

In other aspects, financial service provider device 130 may receive theadditional information as an indication that a customer service has beenaccepted or declined by the customer. If the customer service has beenaccepted, financial service provider device 130 may execute additionalsoftware instructions to associate the accepted customer service withthe customer's financial account. Financial service provider device 130may execute additional processing, as necessary. For example financialservice provider device 130 may send an additional notification toclient device 110 to confirm that acceptance of the customer service hasbeen received (e.g., a confirmation email). If the received additionalinformation indicates that the customer has declined the customerservice, financial service provider device may note the refusal of theservice (e.g., store a message in a database), and/or process 300 maystop.

After steps 320-340 have completed as necessary, the customer may havedecided to accept and/or use the customer service identified byfinancial service provider device 130. In some embodiments, financialservice provider device 130 may execute additional instructions toprocess the customer service (step 350). For example, financial serviceprovider device 130 may send a request for processing information, suchas a proof of purchase (e.g., receipt), warranty information, insuranceinformation, etc. The request may be transmitted by financial serviceprovider device 130 and received by one or more of client device 110and/or merchant device 120. Additionally or alternatively, financialservice provider device 130 may receive processing information from oneor more of client device 110 and merchant device 120. For example, acustomer may use client device 110 to capture information, such as apicture of a receipt, ticket, baggage tag, completed claim form, etc.,and transmit the information to financial service provider device 130.In some embodiments, a customer may use client device 110 to fill out aform to input information relevant to the customer service (e.g.,description of issue, event, purchase, etc.) and include customerauthentication (e.g., e-signature). The form may be transmitted tofinancial service provider device 130 by client device 110 as additionalprocessing information.

Financial service provider device 130 may receive the processinginformation and execute instructions to use the information to furtherprocess the customer service. For example, financial service providerdevice 130 may store the received information and display it to anemployee of the financial service provider for review and furtherprocessing. It should be understood that processing of an individualcustomer service may include any number of particular steps andrequirements, which may be dependent on the particular customer servicebeing processed.

In some embodiments of exemplary process 300, a customer may be alertedto the potential availability of a customer service, such as a secondarybenefit that supplements a financial account relationship between thecustomer and a financial service provider. In addition, particularinformation relevant to the customer service, such as availability,eligibility, cost, cost savings, terms of agreement, etc., may bepresented to the customer for use in making transaction decisions, suchas whether to purchase an item, a warranty, an insurance plan, etc.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 400 for providinginformation related to a customer service before a transaction is made.In some aspects, process 400 may be used to make a customer aware of acustomer service at a time when the customer service may be useful. Forexample, process 400 may relate to notifying a customer that aninsurance plan is available when the customer is at a merchant locationwhere insurance coverage may be relevant.

Process 400 may include financial service provider device 130 beingalerted that a customer is located in or near a target merchant (step410). A target merchant may be a merchant (e.g., a merchant associatedwith merchant device 120) that is identified as being relevant to thecustomer service that may be subject to process 400. For example, if thecustomer service is rental car insurance, the target merchant may be arental car service provider. Several target merchants (e.g., all rentalcar service providers within a specific area) may be simultaneous usedin relation to process 400.

Financial service provider device 130 may be alerted that a customer isin or near a target merchant through the use of known geo-fencingprocesses. The geo-fencing process may include determining whetherclient device 110 is located within a predetermined location boundarynear the target merchant. In order to determine if client device 110 iswithin the predetermined boundary, client device 110 may determine itsown location, which may be determined via GPS or other location-basedmeasurement. In some aspects, client device 110 may send the locationinformation, such as latitude-longitude coordinates, to financialservice provider device 130. Financial service provider device 130 mayprocess the received information to determine if client device 110 iswithin a particular predetermined boundary associated with any targetmerchants.

In other aspects, client device 110 may determine that it is within apredetermined boundary of a target merchant and send only a notification(instead of location information) to financial service provider device130 signaling a location near a target merchant. In some embodiments, acustomer may use client device 110 to “check-in” to a particularlocation, such as a particular merchant, indicating where they arecurrently located. According to some embodiments, the customer may“check-in” via a social networking website or application using clientdevice 110. Client device 110 may transmit the “check-in” information tofinancial service provider device 130 such that the financial serviceprovider is notified of a customer's current location.

After being notified that a customer is in or near a target merchant,financial service provider device 130 may send a notification thatincludes information related to a customer service associated with thetarget merchant to client device 110 (step 420). For example, whenfinancial service provider device 130 becomes alerted to a customerbeing in or near a rental car service provider, the notification mayinclude information related to rental car insurance coverage that isavailable to the customer. The information may include, for example, anotification to the customer that the rental car insurance coverage isavailable to them as a secondary benefit (e.g., the service is availablethrough a credit card account held with the financial service provider).It should be understood that financial service provider device 130 mayperform additional processing to associate a particular client device110 with a particular customer service and a target merchant, as well asany necessary determinations of eligibility, agreement terms, serviceparameters, etc.

In some embodiments, process 400 may end after the customer has beennotified of the information sent from financial service provider device130 to client device 110, which may be displayed to the customer byclient device 110. In this way, process 400 may be used to make acustomer aware of a customer service that is available to them at a timewhen the customer may want that information. For example, a customer maybe alerted that they are covered for rental car insurance by theircredit card provider as a secondary benefit, and therefore may be ableto decline any insurance coverage offered by the rental car serviceprovider.

In other embodiments, the customer may want more specific informationregarding the available service, which may require additionalcommunication between client device 110 and financial service providerdevice 130. In these embodiments, financial service provider device 130may receive additional information from client device 110 (step 430).The additional information may be related to a possible transaction at atarget merchant. For example, client device 110 may receive informationabout a particular vehicle that the customer is considering renting andsend the information to financial service provider device 130. It shouldbe understood that the information may be any relevant informationrelated to a possible transaction that may allow financial serviceprovider device 130 to further determine eligibility, agreement terms,service parameters, etc.

After receiving the additional information, financial service providerdevice 130 may send refined information related to the customer serviceto client device 110 (step 440). Financial service provider device 130may perform additional processes necessary to determine eligibility,terms, parameters, etc. of a customer service, which may be based atleast in part on the received additional information. Financial serviceprovider device 130 may send the information to client device 110, suchthat client device 110 may display the information to the customer.

In some embodiments, the additional information sent to financialservice provider device 130 may include information sufficient todetermine a cost of the same or similar customer service availablethrough the financial service provider (e.g., secondary benefit). Forexample, client device 110 may send information regarding a particularrental car service provider, a particular car the customer isconsidering renting, and any additional information necessary to allowfinancial service provider device 130 to determine a cost associatedwith rental car insurance that may be available through the rental carservice provider. Financial service provider device 130 may send thecalculated cost to client device 110 for display to the customer.

In some aspects, steps 430 and 440 of process 400 may allow a customerto be made aware of specific information potentially relevant to atransaction or potential transaction and/or a customer serviceassociated with a transaction. As described above, the specificinformation may include eligibility, terms, parameters, cost, costsavings, etc., which may be relevant to a transaction and/or a customerservice. For example, after a customer is made aware of possible rentalcar coverage through their financial service provider (e.g., viaexecution of steps 410 and 420), execution of steps 430 and 440 mayallow the customer to find out more specific information about therental car coverage, allowing the customer to decide based on a morecomplete understanding whether to purchase rental car insurance throughthe rental car service provider.

According to the above embodiment, process 400 may allow a financialservice provider to alert a customer to a potential customer service ata time when the customer service is relevant to them, based on thecustomer's location (e.g., at a particular merchant). Further, process400 may allow the financial service provider to engage the customer toprovide the customer with specific information related to a customerservice. In this manner, the customer may be apprised of specificinformation relevant to a customer service and a transaction orpotential transaction with a merchant while they are at the merchantlocation. It should be understood that additional processes may beutilized in conjunction with process 400 to achieve these or otheraspects.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 500 for using clientdevice 110 to receive information related to a customer service. In someembodiments, process 500 may be associated with a scenario in which acustomer is seeking additional information about a customer service,such as a secondary benefit provided by a financial service provider.The customer may be interested in additional information about aspecific customer service, or may be interested in general informationabout any applicable customer services. In some aspects, the customerservice may be related to a product, such as an item or service thecustomer is interested in purchasing. In exemplary process 500, thecustomer service may be an extended warranty, product deals, rewardsdetails, or other service related to a purchase of a product or service.

In an exemplary embodiment, client device 110 may receive informationrelated to a product (step 510). In some aspects, the product may be anitem that a customer associated with client device 110 (e.g., user 112)is considering purchasing. Client device 110 may receive the informationrelated to the product through an I/O device associated with clientdevice 110. In some embodiments, client device 110 may utilize opticaltechnology (e.g., camera, scanner, etc.) to receive information relatedto a product by scanning a barcode (or other identification code) on theproduct. After scanning or otherwise decoding the barcode, client device110 may execute software instructions to determine product informationencoded in the barcode (e.g., product identifying information, productprice, merchant information, etc.). Additionally or alternatively,client device 110 may receive product information as data entered byuser 112.

After receiving the product information, client device 110 may send theinformation to financial service provider device 130 (step 520). Forexample, client device 110 may transmit a message to financial serviceprovider device 130 over network 140 to alert the financial serviceprovider that a customer is interested in information related to one ormore customer services that may be available for the product associatedwith the information.

After financial service provider device 130 processes the receivedinformation (which may be in a manner consistent with process 400),client device 110 may receive a notification with information related toany applicable customer services from financial service provider device130 (step 530). For example, client device 110 may receive anotification that the customer is eligible for an extended warranty fora product (e.g., the product for which information was received in step510). In another example, the notification may include information suchas product deals (e.g., discounts, incentives, competitor prices, etc.)and/or rewards program details. Client device 110 may execute softwareinstructions to process the received notification such that it may bedisplayed or otherwise communicated to the customer (e.g., user 112).

In some embodiments, client device 110 may execute additional processesto coordinate with financial service provider device 130 toprovide/receive additional information and/or a customer service (step540). In some aspects, the additional processing may be consistent withthe processing described with respect to process 400 (e.g., steps 430,440).

In some aspects, process 500 may allow a customer to use client device110 (e.g., a mobile device) to receive information about a product thecustomer may be interested in purchasing. In particular, process 500 mayallow a customer to determine if any or a specific customer service isavailable in relation to the product. For example, a customer may beable to determine eligibility for any or a specific secondary benefitprovided by a financial service provider. A customer (e.g., user 112)may scan a product barcode with client device 110, which may executeprocess 500 to provide information to the customer, such as availabilityof warranties, deals, insurance, etc., and any associated agreementterms.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 600 for notifying acustomer of an available customer service after a transaction hasoccurred. In some aspects, process 600 may be related to the same orsimilar customer services described with respect to processes 400 and500.

Process 600 may include financial service provider device 130 receivinginformation about a customer transaction (step 610). For example,financial service provider device 130 may receive information fromclient device 110 and/or merchant device 120 (e.g., via network 140)indicating that a customer transaction has occurred. For example, thecustomer may complete the transaction using a financial service (e.g.,credit card) maintained by the financial service provider, and thetransaction details may be transmitted to financial service providerdevice 130 in a manner known in the art (e.g., existing paymentchannels).

Financial service provider device 130 may process the receivedinformation to determine if any customer services are available inrelation to the transaction (step 620). After processing, financialservice provider device 130 may send a notification to client device 110to inform the customer of the available customer services (step 630). Insome embodiments, the notification may be a message, such as an sms textmessage or an email. In other embodiments, the notification may be atransaction flag that incorporates the information into otherinformation available to the customer, such as an online billingstatement. The transaction flea may be presented to the customer in amanner that allows the customer to associate the information with thetransaction. For example, an alert or indicator may be displayedadjacent the transaction listed on the customer's billing statement.

In exemplary embodiments of process 600, financial service providerdevice 130 may execute software instructions to determine if informationrelated to a completed transaction (e.g., a transaction completed usinga customer credit card) is related to customer travel (e.g., airline,train, bus tickets) and determine if travel-related customer services(e.g., trip cancellation insurance, lost-luggage protection) areavailable to the customer. Financial service provider device 130 mayfurther send a notification to client device 110, such that atransaction flag is displayed adjacent the transaction in an interactivecustomer billing statement (e.g., a billing statement for the customer'scredit card).

In some aspects, process 600 may increase customer awareness ofavailable customer services even after a transaction has alreadyoccurred. For example, a customer may be informed of availabletravel-related customer services after completing a travel-relatedtransaction. In this way, the customer may be apprised of informationrelevant to future transactions which may be helpful to the customer.For example, the customer may be aware of available trip-cancellationinsurance and/or lost-luggage coverage.

FIGS. 7A and 7B include exemplary depictions of user interfaces on aclient device 110 depicting information (e.g., to user 112) consistentwith disclosed embodiments, including information determined via one ormore of processes 300-600. As shown in FIG. 7A, user interface 710 mayinclude an exemplary message informing a customer (e.g., user 112) thattheir credit card includes rental car insurance coverage. User interface720 may include an exemplary message that informs the customer thattheir credit card provides extended warranty coverage on a particularproduct which may be purchased at a particular retail merchant. Userinterface 730 may include an interactive menu and/or message promptsthat allow the customer to control client device 110 to work inconjunction with financial service provider device 130 to provideadditional customer service information that may interest the customer.

As shown in FIG. 7B, user interfaces 740, 750, and 760 may includeexemplary messages displayed by client device 110 during, for example,process 500. For example, user interface 740 may prompt user 112 to scana barcode associated with a product. User interface 750 may allow user112 to use a camera function associated with client device 110 to takean image (i.e., scan) of the barcode. User interface 760 may include amessage informing the customer that the product associated with thescanned barcode is covered for extended warranty coverage (e.g., afterit is determined via process 500). As shown, user interface 760 mayinclude additional information, such as terms of the warranty andpotential cost and/or cost savings associated with a similar plan.

As described above, processes 300-600 may be executed by one or more offinancial service provider device 130, client device 110, and merchantdevice 120 to allow a financial service provider to provide informationrelated to available customer services. Consistent with processes 400and 500, the financial service provider may be able to determine aparticular time and place that the information may be relevant to thecustomer, and deliver the information to the customer accordingly.Consistent with process 600, the financial service provider may be ableto use completed transaction details to inform the customer of availablecustomer services relevant to the transaction. Further, as described inrelation to process 300, the financial service provider may be able toprovide (e.g., process and complete) the customer service if thecustomer decides to use it. In this way, the exemplary disclosedprocesses 300-600 may be used to increase customer awareness and ease ofuse of customer services, such as secondary benefits.

The exemplary disclosed embodiments describe systems and methods forproviding a customer service. The foregoing description has beenpresented for purposes of illustration. It is not exhaustive and is notlimited to the precise forms or embodiments disclosed. Modifications andadaptations of the embodiments will be apparent from consideration ofthe specification and practice of the disclosed embodiments. Forexample, the described implementations include hardware and software,but systems and methods consistent with the present disclosure can beimplemented as hardware alone. Furthermore, although the abovedescription primarily refers to a financial service provider makingdeterminations regarding the secondary benefits of its customers, one ofskill in the art would appreciate that disclosed embodiments are notlimited to the financial industry and may be employed in other fields.

Computer programs based on the written description and methods of thisspecification are within the skill of a software developer. The variousprograms or program modules can be created using a variety ofprogramming techniques. For example, program sections or program modulescan be designed in or by means of Java, C, C++, assembly language, orany such programming languages. One or more of such software sections ormodules can be integrated into a computer system, computer-readablemedia, or existing communications software.

Moreover, while illustrative embodiments have been described herein, thescope includes any and all embodiments having equivalent elements,modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across variousembodiments), adaptations or alterations based on the presentdisclosure. The elements in the claims are to be interpreted broadlybased on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examplesdescribed in the present specification or during the prosecution of theapplication, which examples are to be construed as non-exclusive.Further, the steps of the disclosed methods can be modified in anymanner, including by reordering steps or inserting or deleting steps. Itis intended, therefore, that the specification and examples beconsidered as example only, with a true scope and spirit being indicatedby the following claims and their full scope of equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: one or more memory devicesstoring software instructions; and one or more processors configured toexecute the software instructions to perform operations comprising:receiving customer data and data associated with a location of a clientdevice, wherein the data associated with the location of the clientdevice is received from a satellite navigation system; identifying acustomer associated with the client device based on the customer data;identifying a merchant by determining, based on the received dataassociated with the location of the client device, the client device islocated within a predetermined boundary associated with a location ofthe merchant, wherein the predetermined boundary associated with thelocation of the merchant is based on data received from the satellitenavigation system; determining, based on at least the identifiedmerchant and the identified customer, eligibility of the customer for acredit card secondary benefit associated with a good or a service of themerchant; transmitting, before a transaction with the merchant hasoccurred and based on the determined eligibility, a notification to theclient device, the notification comprising an option for the customer toaccept the credit card secondary benefit; receiving transactioninformation between the identified customer and the identified merchantfor the good or the service associated with the credit card secondarybenefit; and activating the credit card secondary benefit.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise initiatingcompletion of a customer registration process to complete customereligibility for the credit card secondary benefit.
 3. The system ofclaim 2, wherein completing the customer registration process comprisesreceiving a picture of a receipt associated with a transaction with themerchant for the good or the service associated with the credit cardsecondary benefit.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein completing thecustomer registration process comprises transmitting a form for thecustomer to fill out associated with the credit card secondary benefit,receiving the form filled out by the customer, and receiving a customerauthentication to accept the credit card secondary benefit.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the transaction information is received froma merchant device associated with the identified merchant.
 6. The systemof claim 1, wherein the transaction information is received from theclient device and comprises a picture of a good associated with themerchant and the credit card secondary benefit.
 7. The system of claim1, wherein the credit card secondary benefit comprises insurancecoverage from the merchant associated with at least one of the good orthe service.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the credit card secondarybenefit comprises rental car insurance.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the operations further comprise: receiving, second eligibilityinformation from the client device, the second eligibility informationcomprising one or more of product information or service information;determining customer eligibility for the credit card secondary benefitbased on the second eligibility information; and transmitting a refinedcustomer service option to the client device.
 10. The system of claim 1,wherein the operations further comprise: determining cost savingsassociated with use of the credit card secondary benefit; andtransmitting the cost savings as part of the notification.
 11. A method,comprising: receiving customer data and data associated with a locationof a client device, wherein the data associated with the location of theclient device is received from a satellite navigation system;identifying a customer associated with the client device based on thecustomer data; identifying a merchant by determining, based on thereceived data associated with the location of the client device, thatthe client device is located within a predetermined boundary associatedwith a location of the merchant, wherein the predetermined boundaryassociated with the location of the merchant is based on data receivedfrom the satellite navigation system; determining, based on at least theidentified merchant and the identified customer, eligibility of thecustomer for a credit card secondary benefit associated with a good or aservice of the merchant; transmitting, before a transaction with themerchant has occurred and based on the determined eligibility, anotification to the client device, the notification comprising an optionfor the customer to accept the credit card secondary benefit; receivingtransaction information between the identified customer and theidentified merchant for the good or the service associated with thecredit card secondary benefit; and activating the credit card secondarybenefit.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising initiatingcompletion of a customer registration process to complete customereligibility for the credit card secondary benefit.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, wherein completing the customer registration process comprisesreceiving a picture of a receipt associated with a transaction with themerchant for the good or the service associated with the credit cardsecondary benefit.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein completing thecustomer registration process comprises transmitting a form for thecustomer to fill out associated with the credit card secondary benefit,receiving the form filled out by the customer, and receiving a customerauthentication to accept the credit card secondary benefit.
 15. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the transaction information is received froma merchant device associated with the identified merchant.
 16. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the transaction information is received fromthe client device and comprises a picture of a good associated with themerchant and the credit card secondary benefit.
 17. The method of claim11, wherein the credit card secondary benefit comprises insurancecoverage from the merchant associated with at least one of the good orthe service.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the credit cardsecondary benefit comprises rental car insurance.
 19. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising: receiving, second eligibility informationfrom the client device, the second eligibility information comprisingone or more of product information or service information; determiningcustomer eligibility for the credit card secondary benefit based on thesecond eligibility information; and transmitting a refined customerservice option to the client device.
 20. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: determining cost savings associated with use of the creditcard secondary benefit; and transmitting the cost savings as part of thenotification.